Blind-Date Bride

by Jillian Hart

  Emotion burned behind his eyes and lodged like a hot, tight ball behind his ribs. He had been right in coming, right in following his heart. Brianna was good to the core, gentle to a fault. She had strength that awed him. Her radiance touched him deep and did not let go.

  Unbearable love overwhelmed him. An emotion stronger than any force in the universe came softly, delicately, like spring unfurling the season’s first blossom. The impenetrable, final steel wall within him melted like warm butter.

  He believed. True love changed his world like a fairy tale; but it was no fictional story, no moment of make believe. God is love, he knew, as he felt a reassuring touch. Even a man like him deserved a happy ending and someone he could believe in.

  “You are the most incredible woman.” His hand cupped the side of her face, lovingly. “Even when I think I’ve got you figured out, you surprise me again. You have made me come alive, Brianna, in ways I didn’t know I could.”

  “I don’t understand.” Her violet eyes filled with pure pain. “Didn’t we both agree this isn’t going to work?”

  “I never agreed to that.” Gentle, his words. Adoring, his tone. “I said we have differences. Who doesn’t? What we share in common is more important. I need you, Bree. I love you.”

  “What did you say?” She jerked from his touch, shaking her head. She could not have heard him right.

  “I love you, Brianna. From the bottom of my heart. With all I am. With all I have.” He cupped her face in both hands, gazing intently into her eyes as if in challenge, as if to prove the truth.

  “But I should have told you the truth.”

  “I don’t think you meant to deceive me, Bree. I think it was too painful of a subject to talk about with someone you were just starting to date.”

  “Yes.” That was it exactly. “I’m not Nancy. I’m not using you. I would never hurt you.”

  “I know that, darlin’.” His tone rumbled low, impossibly tender.

  “But what about my dad?” She felt as if she were breaking apart from the inside out, one tiny piece at a time. “I’ve tried, but I can’t escape my past and where I’ve come from. It’s part of me.”

  “I know the answer to that, and I learned it from you. Don’t look back at the bad stuff. Choose what you want to take with you from the good things in your past and keep moving forward.” He did not remove his hands, his touch searing like a brand. He searched her face as if trying to see inside, where she could not let him go. “That’s why I’m here tonight. I’ve come to ask you to move forward with me.”

  “Move forward?” Was he talking about moving on? And why was he towering over her with his dark hair dusted with light and close enough to kiss her? “I don’t understand at all. You want to break up.”

  “No way, beautiful.” His voice vibrated pleasantly through her, a coziness like nothing she had known before. “We have to stay together.”

  “We don’t.” She wanted to pull way, but she couldn’t move. “I can’t go through this again, Max. My heart broke utterly. Totally. There’s nothing left of it. I can’t let myself hope. I can’t let myself go through that again, needing you so much and then losing you again.”

  “Now see, we have that in common, too.” The fury of the rain lessened, as if sensing the world was suddenly not quite as bleak. “I learned one thing tonight. I don’t want to live without you. I can’t be without you. My life would be empty, my days spent existing instead of living. I need you, Bree. I love you.” He brushed his lips across her forehead. “Yes, I said I love you, my beautiful, strong Brianna.”

  “Right there is proof this can’t work.” His amazing words were cruel: everything she wanted; everything she could not have. “There you go again, seeing someone who isn’t me.”

  “Oh, I see you. When I look at you, I see everything.” His reverent tone was like the sweetest assurance, the brush of his lips to the tip of her nose the purest caress. “I see a woman who has pulled herself up by her bootstraps. Who does well in school, who loves her family, who handles adversity with grace and strength. She treats everyone with kindness and is true beauty, inside and out. This is what true love is, Brianna. Seeing the best in someone, and cherishing that above all else.”

  Tears seared her, burning behind her eyes and tangling behind her larynx. She didn’t trust her voice. She didn’t know what to do with his sweet words. Trust in them? She wasn’t that naive. She could no longer let herself believe, didn’t know if she could. She had no hope left. Every piece, every sliver was gone, as if washed away, no longer within her. When she needed it most.

  “I have to work late some nights. Whenever my pager goes off, I have to drop whatever I’m doing and answer the call.” He kept chipping away with his words and his outpouring of tenderness. “I leave my wet towels on the bathroom floor. I get caught up in sports shows and forget what day it is. And that’s just the start of it. Can you accept these thing about me?”

  “Yes.” What was happening to her? Her ribs felt as if they were breaking, her entire being as if tearing apart. “I’m scared of the dark. I have post-traumatic stress. I double check every lock on every door every time.”

  “Flaws are what makes a person lovable.” In the darkness he brushed his thumb over the cut of her bottom lip, the most tender of gestures. His gaze softened, as if he were about to kiss her again. As if he could breach the distance that had fallen between them. “Flaws are the dear things that make someone unique. One of a kind. Impossible to replace.”

  “Am I those things to you?”

  “Absolutely, beyond a doubt, yes.” His loving sincerity sucked all the sense from her brain and obliterating the entire world. The rain silenced. The cold night vanished. She stood as if in summer sunshine as his calloused fingertips gently scraped against her lower lip. The briefest stroke, but it held her captive. “Bree, you are what I never thought was possible. You are my one true love.”

  Hope should be lifting her up, but her feet were solidly planted on the ground. Maybe it was too late for them. Maybe her heart had been broken too much. His touch was warm comfort, but nothing more. There was no zing of emotion binding them together. No unspoken understanding as soul mates should share.

  What had happened? Had she lost him? And how, when he was saying everything right, as if out of her dreams?

  “I’m waiting for the words, Bree.”

  She laid her hands on his, feeling the rugged texture of his male skin and something vulnerable behind the strength and steel. Tiny pain needled deep within, as if what was left of her wishes were struggling to live.

  Believe, her soul whispered. Just believe.

  “Do you love me?” he asked with amazing tenderness. He dominated her senses; he seemed to shrink the night, his endless affection was all she could see.

  “Yes,” she answered, as if standing in full light. It was hard to make herself vulnerable one more time. “So much, I could never stop loving you.”

  “That’s how I love you, too.” A reverent grin stretched his dimples into full bloom.

  Unable to move, totally captivated, she could only watch as he bent closer, bringing with him the scent of March rain and aftershave. His lips met hers in a sweet, velvet caress. Unstoppable love filled her soul with enough power to chase away every shadow and fear. As she clung to him, emotion snapped between them like an electric shock, binding them heart to heart.

  She rested her cheek on his chest, savoring the reliable beat of his heart and the shelter of his arms enclosing her. She could not believe that she was here with him, her soul mate—but it was true. How could she ever thank God enough for answering her most sincere prayer?

  “It’s stopped raining.” Max kissed the top of her head, his happiness washing over her. “It’s a good sign.”

  “It’s like God answering.” Moonlight spilled between parting storm clouds, silvering the world, gracing it with pearled light. The radiance touched her, filling her with hope for the future. Life was not perfect, but God was. Wh
atever happened on the road ahead, she knew she would be loved.

  Just like the stories she held so dear, she had her happily-ever-after. She wrapped her arms around Max, thankful for him, and held on tight.

  Epilogue

  Three weeks later

  At the sound of the electronic chime coming from the depths of her handbag, Bree tugged her phone out of her purse to check her messages. Sure enough, there was one just in from the man she was supposed to be meeting. She tapped the select button. Waiting for the text to flash onto her screen, she caught sight of Brandi whisking through the bakery’s main aisle, balancing a tray of drinks and dessert.

  I’m on my way, Max had written. Luv U much.

  Luv U more, she typed with a smile because she knew that wherever he was, he was thinking of her.

  Her phone chimed with a new message.

  No, I luv U more, he argued.

  Typical Max, always wanting the last word. Not that she minded, because being adored by him was the best blessing she’d ever received. She intended to cherish him for the rest of her life.

  The front door chimed, and she twisted around, already knowing it wasn’t him. Colbie wrestled with the door, and before Bree could hop up to go help, an older man rose from a nearby table to hold it. Lil offered a sweet note of thanks as Colbie wheeled her through the threshold.

  “I had a hankering for banana muffins,” Lil explained with an extra twinkle of happiness in her beautiful blue eyes. “Colbie was good enough to drive me here. You are looking especially lovely today. Happiness looks good on you, child.”

  “My practice teaching at the grade school has been totally fantastic.” She got up to rearrange the chairs to make room for Lil’s wheelchair. “Come, sit with me and tell me why you’re so chipper.”

  “You know, the same old.” Lil’s smile couldn’t be any bigger. What was going on?

  “We don’t want to interrupt,” Colbie explained as she pushed her mother toward the counter. “Are you waiting for Max?”

  “He’s on his way. We’re going to dinner afterward. Do you two want to join us?”

  “Let’s wait and see how the afternoon turns out.” It was Colbie’s turn to smile as if she had just heard the best news in the world. “We’re going to order.”

  What was with those two? Honestly, she was glad they were happy, but she was clueless as to why. A girl liked to get the whole scoop. Bree settled back into her chair when the door opened again with a merry jingle. Out of the corner of her eye she caught sight of a lean woman with a battered duffel bag moving through the doorway. There was something familiar about the fragile cut of her shoulders. The tentative posture. The hint of a profile so like Colbie’s. Big blue eyes, straight brown hair, and a heart-shaped face. Brooke.

  “It’s Brooke!” Colbie shrieked, streaking through the rows of tables to wrap their wayward sister in a hug.

  “Brooke!” Brandi, her tray empty, raced over to join in. “I can’t believe it. You came.”

  Bree didn’t remember how she crossed the room, only that her sisters made room for her as she squeezed into the hug. Joy bubbled through her as she held Brooke tight. “It’s good you’re here.”

  “I’m so glad to see you all.” Tears hovered but did not fall. Brooke looked changed; the years had not been kind to her. Bree ached for her sister, vowing to pray even harder for her happiness. After all, if the fairy tale could happen to her, it could happen to Brooke, too. No one deserved it more.

  “I’m not late, am I?” She looked worried. “I came straight from the bus depot.”

  “Of course you’re not late,” Bree answered, pulling her car keys from her pocket. “The trial doesn’t start for weeks. Did you want to stow your duffel in my car?”

  “Thanks.” When Brooke took the key ring, she glanced at Brianna’s left hand. Relief washed across her face. “I’ll take care of this bag after we catch up. Hi, Lil.”

  “Hi, dear. I’m thrilled you decided to come and visit us. Give me a hug, poor girl. You’re looking much too thin.” Lil held out her frail arms. “You must stay with us so I can fatten you up with some of our home cooking. No arguments.”

  “I’ve missed you all so much.” Brooke’s bottom lip trembled, and no one watching missed the brief flash of misery on her face, proof of what they all feared, that her life was much harder than she admitted. Maybe they could convince her to finally move home. She bent to accept Lil’s welcoming hug.

  The door chime knelled a third time, and Bree didn’t need to look to know it was Max. Her spirit turned toward him like the moon toward the earth, and her soul smiled. He dominated her view with his mile-wide shoulders and his windblown, dark hair spilling over his forehead. He was like her very own dream in a black bomber jacket, a day’s growth shadowing his square jaw and striding directly toward her like a panther stalking his prey.

  Tenderness for him blinded her to all else, so it took her a moment to realize he was not alone. She blinked, trying to bring Marcus and the strapping men with him into focus. Her half brothers had hung back, one with his hands in his pockets, the other with his arms folded in front of his chest, both watching her with impossibly blue eyes.

  “Hunter? Luke?” She stared in surprise. The McKaslin boys didn’t get the chance to visit much, since running the ranch kept them busy nearly 24/7. “What are you all doing here? I—” She fell silent realizing her entire family—those she counted as real family—were surrounding her and that Max had gone down on bended knee.

  The entire bakery silenced, as if every single person there knew what he was about to ask.

  “Brianna?” He gathered her hands respectfully in his.

  Her pulse screeched to a halt. She stared down at him in disbelief. He couldn’t be proposing, could he? Joy popped like fireworks on the Fourth of July.

  “Will you do me the honor of becoming my wife?” He slid a square-cut diamond ring on her finger, his gaze luminous, his adoration for her unquestionable.

  “Yes. Of course. I would love to marry you.” Endless love for him lifted her off the floor, or at least it felt that way as he wrapped her in his arms and gave her a perfect kiss.

  While her family cheered, clapped and called out their congratulations, Brianna could see her future as Max’s wife. With every day happier than the next, spent with her beloved, basking in his love. There would be children one day—maybe a little boy and a little girl—and more happiness and more love to share.

  “It’s going to be a good life,” Max promised.

  “It’s going to be spectacular.” Full of endless hope, she kissed her fiancé one more time, absolutely sure. The best was yet to come.

  Dear Reader,

  You may remember meeting Brianna and her twin, Brandilyn, in earlier books of THE MCKASLIN CLAN series, when they were teenagers dealing with their troubled lives. Time has passed; Brianna has grown up, and when I started writing her story, I realized trouble had found its way into her life again. The past was holding her back from the peace and joy God intended for her, I was curious. Could she heal the places in her spirit that had been hurt by violence and fear? Could she find a way to leave a childhood full of neglect and chaos behind her? And how?

  When I first met Max Decker, I thought his steely outside, tender inside would be just what Brianna needed. Someone who was strong enough to always stand for what was right, but who could love her the way she deserved. I hope you enjoy reading about their journey toward love and hope and God’s purpose for them.

  Thank you for choosing BLIND-DATE BRIDE.

  Wishing you love, hope and peace,

  QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION

  At the beginning of the story, how would you describe Bree’s character? What are her weaknesses and her strengths? How has her past influenced who she is?

  What strikes you most about Max’s character when you first meet him? How does he change through the story?

  Bree wonders why she couldn’t have met Max before the robbery, before she had even
more problems. She worries that love only happens when a person has worked out all her problems and flaws. What does this say about her? And why is she wrong?

  How does Max’s brother influence the story? What aspects of Max’s character does Marcus bring out?

  Bree is struggling with fear and trust issues. How does God lead her through? Have you ever struggled with similar issues?

  Trauma had affected both Max and Bree. In what ways? Both Max and Bree say in the story that violence has changed who they are. How is this true? In what ways do they begin to heal? Has this ever happened to you?

  How does Bree rely on Scripture to strengthen her? How do you rely on Scripture to strengthen you?

  In the course of the story, Bree makes the statement: The only way out of hardship and pain is to go straight through it. How does she do this? Have you had hardship you have had to work through in a similar way?

  Bree struggles with letting Max close to her emotionally. How is this evident? What do you think are the underlying causes and issues?

  What do you think are the important themes in this story?

  How does the Lord lead Bree? How does He lead Max?

  How would you describe Bree’s faith? Max’s faith? How are each strengthened?

  What does Bree learn about flaws and about love?

  How does joy and comfort come into Bree’s and her sisters’ lives? To Max’s and Marcus’s?

  ISBN: 978-1-4268-3308-3

  BLIND-DATE BRIDE

  Copyright © 2009 by Jill Strickler

  All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including xerography, photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, is forbidden without the written permission of the editorial office, Steeple Hill Books, 233 Broadway, New York, NY 10279 U.S.A.